"I Haven't Had So Much Fun Since the Pigs Ate My Brother." Aside from this post, what year and where was the first time you heard this phrase? [more inside]
posted by eccnineten
on Aug 23, 2009 -
11 answers

In There Will Be Blood, Daniel Plainview delivers the line: "I have a competition in me." Could this be described as grammatically correct, strictly speaking? Or is it idiomatic, but not strictly correct? Is Plainview saying, essentially, "I have a [sense of] competition in me," a sentence that, were it to be spelled out as such, would lose its rhetorical punch? Could it be argued as a case of poetic metonymy or something of the kind? [more inside]
posted by Busoni
on Aug 8, 2009 -
27 answers

language-philes -- Isnt English weird for not having conjugated verbs? Even its closest relatives - german and the romance languages - have conjugated verbs. Please to explain? [more inside]
posted by jak68
on Aug 5, 2009 -
38 answers

I'm looking for French-language versions of well-known English-language pop songs. Any genre or era. (Bonus points for French versions of the New Wave songs from my youth...) My wife and I are learning French together, and I think this would be a fun way to add some color to that process.
posted by jdroth
on Aug 3, 2009 -
32 answers

In about a month I'm going to be teaching English to a bunch of 4th grade South Korean kids. Awesome. However, I've never taught anything, let alone a language. I'm looking for books, courses, tips, tricks, suggestions and anything else that might give me a little confidence. [more inside]
posted by GilloD
on Jul 30, 2009 -
20 answers

In Return of the King, Aragorn says: "I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me." What precisely does he mean by this? My confusion is with the phrase "take the heart of me." Is this a standard idiom?
posted by Busoni
on Jul 15, 2009 -
15 answers

Genuinely dumb question to waste on the brain trust here but: when nouns end in x, do you indicate possession with just a quotation mark or do you need to include the s? [more inside]
posted by christhelongtimelurker
on Jul 13, 2009 -
23 answers

I am a community college English instructor, and I am working on structuring my Comp I class around the theme of work. Can anyone recommend some thoughtful articles, websites, books (easily excerpted), etc. about work or the workplace? Most of my students have limited reading comprehension skills, so I can’t use anything that is too specialized or advanced. I’m looking for articles on the level of Time or Newsweek. Thanks!
posted by alspeigh
on Jul 3, 2009 -
23 answers

I'd like to study about Comparative Literature, but as I've looked around at CompLit university departments it appears that there isn't really anything like an introductory course or textbook. [more inside]
posted by elfgirl
on Jun 11, 2009 -
5 answers

I'm in Spain and have been asked to give summer courses in English for academic purposes to university researchers and teachers of engineering. Apart from "English Academic Vocabulary in Use" (CUP), which I used last year - it's good - do any MeFites have any tried and tested recommendations for books and other materials that might be suitable? Amazon is great, but too often you can't get a feel for the book.
posted by Holly
on May 26, 2009 -
5 answers

Apple Genius Bar not so Genius - I bought my macbook back in 2004 and recently took it into the London Apple store for help with a software problem. [more inside]
posted by numberstation
on May 21, 2009 -
12 answers

I need to have a latin phrase translated for a tattoo I'm getting, anyone know latin?
the phrase is:
"One day we will burn together as stars" [more inside]
posted by Charlie Lesoine
on May 15, 2009 -
26 answers

Zounds! Odd's Bodkins! Jiminy Cricket! Gosh darn it! English Christianity seems nervous about taking the Lord's name directly in vain and comes up with these odd re-arrangements to avoid blasphemy. Can't think of any languages that take the third commandment quite the same way, but perhaps you can. [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones
on May 13, 2009 -
20 answers

Speaking English causes bad teeth? Combined with chewing gum, leads to more kids having to wear dental braces? Help me research this one; would like stats and links... [more inside]
posted by querty
on May 11, 2009 -
25 answers

What kinds of jobs are available in Canada--but outside of Quebec--for someone who can speak English, Korean, and French reasonably fluently? Preferably, though not necessarily, on the West coast. [more inside]
posted by smorange
on May 8, 2009 -
10 answers

England and America, two countries separated by a common language. Check. What I'm looking for are resources that cover the differences in spoken English (accent, syntax, diction, catch-phrases - it's all good) between the two countries circa 1776-1815. [more inside]
posted by IndigoJones
on Apr 20, 2009 -
9 answers

Name this song: Chinese (I assume) singers singing in English singing praises about the Three Gorges Dam.
I heard it in an Asian restaurant about 6-8 years ago. [more inside]
posted by santogold
on Apr 4, 2009 -
1 answer

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